


Every time in every life

by himarisu



Category: Wanna One (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Thieves, Bittersweet, Childhood Friends, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, First Meetings, M/M, Pets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-03
Updated: 2018-12-27
Packaged: 2019-09-06 08:05:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16828519
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/himarisu/pseuds/himarisu
Summary: A collection of shortfics written for nielwink month.Chapter 1 / Jihoon and Daniel are thieves who just keep signing up for the same work.Chapter 2 / Jihoon doesn't know what to make of the weird person who walks his cat.Chapter 3 / Daniel and Jihoon have a promise to keep with each other.





	1. it's not as easy as it seems

**Author's Note:**

> ♥♥♥ to foxseal for beta-ing always.

  
  


There is no one Jihoon loathes more than Cat Thief.

It's a misleading nickname Jihoon has created for him—especially since Cat Thief doesn't _actually_ steal cats—but it does the job of giving Jihoon something to spit out every time he finds the artefact he's meant to steal _already stolen_ by the time he arrives at the location.

He knows it's the _same_ thief who signs up for the _same_ commission he's signed up for on the Underground's online noticeboard every time because there is _one_ _distinct_ trace Cat Thief leaves at every scene:

A small doodle of a cat.

" _Cat Thief_ ," Jihoon growls as he looks down at the gilded bowl where the opal crystals were supposed to be. Instead, there's a slightly crumpled piece of paper inside that bears a drawing of a fluffy kitten once unfolded. He glares at the innocent animal. "I swear to god I'll murder you in cold blood."

If Jihoon wanted to, he would take all 71 doodles sitting in the corner of his room—not that he's been counting—and incinerate them all with a flamethrower if only to feel better about himself. But he knows the relief will be unsatisfying and short-lived; much like the feeling he gets when he receives his compensation for completing errands. 

Jihoon realises that the only way to truly appease his pent-up anger and frustration is to crush Cat Thief with his own hands once and for all. 

It’s the reason why, when he's not out swiping clockwork gear or aged wine, he spends day in, day out analysing the enemy thief and the cats in his drawings, the commissions he takes up, and the tiny traces he leaves behind. It's all in the name of setting up the perfect trap so Cat Thief can finally stop taking away all of commissions Jihoon signs up for.

After spending a lot of time thinking about the thief—and cursing him in his head at the same time—Jihoon realises that they're a lot more similar than he initially thought. After all, they're constantly choosing the same errands to run. As much as he hates to admit it, Jihoon thinks it might be attributed to their similar thought processes. Of trying to find the easy, simple commissions that are in familiar areas, have compensation beyond materialistic goods, and would actually make life easier.

In the end, the perfect trap Jihoon comes up with comes in the form of a bogus commission he's put up on the noticeboard: to steal a timeworn certificate somewhere in the city ruins. 

If he's been studying Cat Thief right, then he will definitely take this commission up. First of all, the (fake) reward Jihoon's put up is a year of free meals at the pub. Second of all, it's a well-known fact that no one should go anywhere _near_ the city ruins unless they know the place inside and out. Of course, Jihoon's an expert when it comes to the area and he knows this applies to Cat Thief too, which can only mean they'd be the only two people to sign up for it. To top it all off, it's a _feline adoption certificate_ that he's supposed to be stealing and—well, Jihoon just hopes it counts for something given all the sloppy cat doodles. 

When Jihoon thinks about it, they may have ended up as good friends in another lifetime.

Not in this one though.

  
  
  
  
  


Jihoon sighs, tapping his fingers along the hilt of his dagger as he leans against one of the buildings. _What's taking him so long?_ If the posting had been real, maybe it would've been the one time Jihoon finds the artefact before Cat Thief does.

Though his guard has definitely been lowered while waiting for Cat Thief, kicking around stones and writing hate messages in the dirt, all it takes is a whispered, "Wow," for Jihoon to unsheathe his weapon and hold it against the intruder's neck in one quick motion.

The intruder's Adam's apple bobs up and down, his neck effectively inching closer to the sharp edge of Jihoon's dagger. "H-hey," he stammers. "Please don't kill me."

The unexpected fear in his voice is what makes Jihoon look up, even if he had been dead set on killing him on sight moments before.

Glancing at his face, the intruder looks harmless. There's no real danger or animosity Jihoon can sense in his puppy-like, innocent eyes, but then again it might be all part of his trap—because his slender yet muscular body that Jihoon can see under his tight, black skinsuit screams anything _but_ innocent. 

"What are you doing here?" Jihoon snarls, pushing his knife closer when he notices he's unconsciously lowered it.

"A co-commission," the man splutters, closing his eyes shut. "For a certificate. Cats."

His words are slightly disjointed, but they're the exact ones Jihoon needed to hear to confirm that who he has cornered is indeed, Cat Thief. It should be no huge feat for Jihoon to slice his neck open at this moment right now—but somehow, it'd be unsatisfying like this.

If anything, he wouldn't have thought that Cat Thief—undoubtedly one of the best thieves in the district—would be caught as easily as this. Jihoon had expected it to be much harder, especially considering all the times Cat Thief has pissed him off with the other commissions, so for their 'rivalry' to end like this... would be very anticlimactic.

"Are you here for it too?" asks Cat Thief, eyes twinkling. 

Jihoon eyes him. Instead of the malice that should be heard when there's another competitor for the reward, Cat Thief's voice is laced with eagerness instead—even while he's millimetres away from the blade of a dagger. 

"Maybe we can find it together and share the reward! It's a whole year of free meals, after all," he continues. "I think it'd be nice if there was someone else to eat with."

"What?" Jihoon spits out. _Sharing_ a commission's payment? People actually do that? 

He's reluctant to let his suspicions drop, but with how heartfelt Cat Thief sounds, Jihoon begins to feel some semblance of guilt eat him up and finds himself saying before he can stop himself, "No, I'm. I'm not—it's not a real commission."

Cat Thief blinks at him, and Jihoon hates how he actually thinks he looks cute disappointed.

"Not real? Really?" He frowns, a slight pout on his lip. "Aw, man, I was really looking forward to the meals and getting a hold of one of those certificates. I mean, can you believe people had to get a hold of one of those to own a cat? I can't... Can't imagine not being able to own as many kitties as I want to."

"Well, it depends where people lived," says Jihoon, finding amusement in Cat Thief's ever-changing facial expressions. "Some people owned them without having those."

"You seem like you know a lot," he marvels at Jihoon, but then his brows furrow just as quickly. "Wait. If the commission's fake, then why are you here?"

Jihoon pauses.

What's he going to say, _I'm here to kill you, be prepared to die?_ Cat Thief seems like a nice enough person—nothing like the snobby, arrogant picture he'd come up with in his head—and given how he's willing to share invaluable rewards with someone he's just met, Jihoon figures he's worth keeping around for now. In fact, Jihoon doesn't know when it happened, but his dagger has already lowered from Cat Thief's neck.

"I was taking a walk," is the answer Jihoon ends up giving him. "It's a nice night."

That seems to surprise Cat Thief if the way his eyes widen is anything to go by. "Around the city ruins? Wow... You're beautiful _and_ smart—wait, I mean..." 

The corners of Jihoon's lips quirk up when he sees the way Cat Thief's ears go visibly red, even under only the illumination of the moon. Something tells Jihoon that the earlier 'wow' he heard from him might have something to do with this one too.

Jihoon slides his dagger back in its sheath and asks, "Hey, what's your name?"

"Huh? Oh, I'm Daniel," he says, running a hand through his hair, embarrassed. "What's yours?"

"Daniel, huh," Jihoon grins, ignoring his question and liking the way the name feels on his tongue already. "That definitely sounds better than Cat Thief."

"Cat Thief?" Daniel scrunches his nose, seemingly offended. "What? But I don't even steal cats... I'd never do that..."

Whatever. Jihoon will give him that—though he definitely thinks Daniel is capable of stealing hearts.

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was supposed to be angst but looks like I got tired of myself already :(


	2. it's the thought that counts

  
  
  


Max is usually a very well-behaved dog—which shouldn't be a surprise since Jihoon raised him to be that way. But of course, the one time Max should be behaving, he _isn’t_.

And of course, _of course_ , out of all the other people at the park, Max just has to run up to the one Jihoon has secretly been eyeing the past several weeks when he accidentally lets go of his leash. The one who walks his _goddamn_ _cat_.

To be honest, the only reason why Jihoon's eye was caught by the man when he usually couldn't care less about his surroundings is because of the cat.

Because who even walks cats? As far as Jihoon knows, they're indoor pets and so are supposed to be kept _indoors_ and not out here with all the potential predators (or in other words, dogs). Granted, Max is small and so probably isn't all that intimidating—but Jihoon still thinks there are times when he's a force to be reckoned with.

And he turns out to be right because the moment Max stops at the man's feet and barks his tiny, high-pitched bark at him, the cat in his lap begins to convulse like it's being electrocuted and scrambles onto the man's chest. Jihoon thinks he hears a howl of pain coming from underneath the pet.

"I'm—" pants Jihoon, having finally caught up to the scene. He picks Max up into his arms, giving him a small glare as a reprimand. "I'm so, so sorry about Max, he—"

He doesn't finish his sentence— _can't_ finish it, not when right in front of his eyes he sees a shirt with a rip right across the upper torso and— _fuck_ , a man's chest he's sure belongs to a _Greek god_.

"Um," stutters Jihoon, still staring at The Chest. "Your... your..."

The man lets out a shriek then, startling Max and Jihoon to finally look away from the teasing expanse of skin and finally at his face.

Admittedly, the cat owner looks cute—gentle, even, although that isn't anything Jihoon hasn't thought of the multiple times he's seen him coddling his cat in the park. He looks better up close, and maybe even better if he didn't look like he was about to have a breakdown with a cat on his shoulder in the middle of a playground with five-year-old children milling about.

"My shirt!" the man shouts, belatedly covering The Chest with his arm. He raises his head, hard disbelief in his expression as he stares at Jihoon. "My shirt!" he repeats like those two words are the only ones he knows.

"Oh god, I'm—I'm so sorry,"—okay, so it wasn't an exhibitionist's most prized shirt—"Where did you buy it? I'll buy you another one, however much it costs!"

Though Jihoon says that, on the inside, he's thinking of his bank account balance, dropped down to a single digit figure after purchasing new skins for a video game only yesterday.

"It's a limited edition shirt," the man whispers. Jihoon swallows nervously. "They don't sell it anymore."

"I'm sor—" At this point, Jihoon is sure the one sitting in front of him looking as if he's having an existential crisis would rather not hear another apology coming out of him, so he stops himself short. "Wait—are you okay? Your cat must've scratched pretty deep to make a big rip like that."

"Yeah, I'm used to it. Ori does it all the time," he replies, lifting his arm a little to look down at the state of his shirt again. He sighs. "I'm not sure how I'll go home like this though. Doing a soldier's pledge all the way back doesn't sound all that appealing..."

"There's!" Jihoon exclaims, feeling a surge of energy after a chance to redeem himself has presented itself. "There are shops nearby! I can buy you something real quick, just stay here—"

Jihoon doesn't wait for an answer: he simply runs off to the closest store with Max swinging in his arms, picks the most affordable but still presentable article of clothing, feels regret as he swipes his credit card into the machine, and arrives back in no time.

Thankfully, the man is still there on the bench, only now hugging Ori as an alternative to covering his chest, finally looking a little more calm than when Jihoon left him earlier.

"Hi," he says with a pretty smile, as if he's greeting a friend and not someone who ruined his shirt.

"Hey," replies Jihoon, a little breathless because of the running and... maybe how endearing the man looks like that, snuggling with his cat.

Jihoon gives him a smile too before he takes the new shirt out of the bag and opens it up for the man to see. Thinking he hears a choking noise, Jihoon peers from behind the shirt and asks, "Are you okay?"

"Oh. Yeah. I'm fine." He looks the shirt up and down, then lets out a laugh, his eyes crinkling. "It's just... That's a very interesting choice of colour."

"Really?" Jihoon furrows his brows. Well, bright green looks normal to him.

The man wastes no time in putting the green shirt on over his old one—there's a brief respite when he puts Ori down on the bench and strokes her lovingly though, permitting Jihoon one last chance to take a glance at his beautiful, exposed chest—and then he's all patched up and looking new. Well, on the outside, at least.

"Is there anything else I can do?" asks Jihoon, still feeling guilty about it, especially when the man has been nothing but kind about the whole ordeal (and, dare he say it, _lovely_ ).

"No, it's fine." There's a moment's hesitation in the man's face as they just look at each other for a few seconds, then all of a sudden he asks, all puppy-like, "Actually, are you free for lunch? Or for dinner?"

Feeling his heart leap out of his chest, Jihoon blinks at him. "I'm sorry, I can't... really afford anything right now. I can definitely do next month, though."

"No!" the man blurts out. Upon seeing the surprise on Jihoon's face, he quickly backtracks, "I mean, no, I'll pay for it."

"What?" Jihoon is even more confused now, though there's no denying the warm feeling in his chest. "Why? I'll end up owing you more..."

"You don't have to pay me back," he says, waving his hands in front of him quickly. "Just your time is enough."

Jihoon almost drops Max. "U-um," He feels a heated blush rising up his cheeks, and hopes the man can't see it. "Um, sure, then. Lunch sounds fine."

"Great!" The man flashes Jihoon a blinding smile that has him returning it unconsciously. After taking a quick look at his watch, he continues, "Then since it's already noon, should we get going... Max's owner?"

Jihoon stares at him for a while, and then he can't help it—he bursts out laughing: at the situation his dog has put him in with this adorable man, at how he's scored a free meal even when he's ruined the man’s limited edition shirt, and then at the fact that they're going on a maybe-date while knowing their pet's names before each other's.

"Okay," Jihoon grins. "Let's go, Ori's owner."

After all, there'll plenty of time for them to get to know each other in the future.

  
  
  



	3. our beginning and ending

  
  
  


Daniel has no idea why he's still on this bridge in the middle of a snowstorm.

'Snowstorm' is an exaggeration, actually—it would be more accurate to call it 'light snowfall'; the cold only feels worse than it really is because Daniel has been shivering here in his not-thick-enough coat for an hour already with nothing but his unwelcome thoughts. He tries to distract himself from them, but there isn't much to refocus to apart from the river flowing underneath and the falling snowflakes that look like they're twinkling against the night sky.

When Daniel had first arrived at the bridge, he had told himself he would wait for no more than two hours. Two hours, and if _that_ person doesn't show up, then Daniel will go home, snuggle up under his bed covers, and forget all about him. Considering Daniel has constantly been keeping their promise at the back of his mind for the past several years, though, doing just that— _forgetting_ —will prove to be very difficult. Still, there's no harm in wishful thinking.

At least that's what Daniel hopes.

"I knew you'd still be here."

Jumping out of his skin—and not because of the cold—Daniel takes a moment or two to recognise the deep voice, but he's already pulling a smile before he even sees who it belongs to.

Because there's only _one_ person who would find him here on a bridge, in a small town close to midnight.

"And I knew you'd come—" Daniel replies as he turns around, hoping he sounds a lot more nonchalant than he really feels inside.

And there he is, standing right in front of him with a scowl on his face. The one he can trust with his life, the one who had been a constant source of comfort during his adolescence, and the one who, even now, means the world to him.

"—Jihoon."

  
  
  
  
  


"You shouldn't have waited for me," Jihoon grumbles as they plop down on their seats in the corner of a cafe. "It's freezing tonight."

"But you came anyway," points out Daniel, shrugging his coat off and throwing it over the back of his seat.

"Yeah, but—"

The waiter comes by just then, placing their hot drinks down along with embroidered coasters on the table, and then leaving once he makes sure with a quick glance that Daniel and Jihoon aren't about to have an argument.

"Sorry, I just..." Jihoon sighs. "I'm just saying that I could have completely forgotten about it and then you would've died from hypothermia or something."

"But you didn't forget!" he grins, "and I didn't die!" With the way one corner of Jihoon's lips goes up, Daniel lets out a little cheer inside for at least getting him to stop _frowning_. "There's no point thinking about _what-if_ s anymore."

Jihoon shrugs, and that's how Daniel knows he's won the argument. "Okay, Mr Wise Guy."

Daniel fixes him a look. "Don't give me attitude when you were the one who was late."

"Not on _purpose_ ," Jihoon defends himself, arms folded across his chest. "' _Twenty years from now, 8pm, on the bridge we cross to go to school every day_ '. See? I have it memorised word for word. I was late because I had to drive from Seoul."

He hasn't even taken a sip of his drink yet, but a warm feeling blooms in Daniel's chest. "You drove all the way from Seoul? For this?"

Jihoon only huffs in response, clearly embarrassed.

"You didn't forget either," he says after a while, quietly, like it's more of a reminder for himself than for Daniel. "So thank you for that."

Daniel can only look at him fondly. How could he forget a promise he made with someone so important to him? Sure, it might have been a joke to them at first, but as years went by, it began to morph into something that Daniel so desperately held onto every time he felt unwanted, unneeded.

He had been—to be completely honest—fucking scared about whether Jihoon would still remember the promise they made. But now that Jihoon is here sitting in front of him after years of separation, there's no greater amount of comfort to Daniel than knowing that Jihoon, too, might have felt scared the same way he did. 

(And if he was allowed further hope, that there's a piece of Daniel in Jihoon's heart like there is an entire chamber in Daniel's that pounds only for Jihoon.)

But then Jihoon takes his leather gloves off to pick his mug up, and in doing so, gives Daniel a peek of the tell-tale glimmer of metal around his right ring finger.

And all too sudden, that tiny sliver of hope shatters into pieces.

"Does he treat you well?"

Jihoon startles, raising his head to look at him. "What are you..."

Following Daniel's gaze, Jihoon looks down again. A silent gasp escapes his lips as realisation flickers through his eyes.

Jihoon quickly puts his hand away, out of Daniel's sight, but it's already too late.

"H-he does," Jihoon finally admits, head hanging low. "He's really nice, and he makes me happy..." 

Picking his drink up, Jihoon takes a long gulp as if he's buying time to think. 

"Listen, Daniel, I don't want you to think I came today because—"

"I know," Daniel smiles, already sensing that Jihoon is feeling guilty when he has absolutely no reason to. "We did say that anyway—that we'd meet up even if one of us is already in a relationship. I'm here to see _you_ , my _best friend_ , not get engaged in a single night, Jihoon."

Jihoon's shoulders visibly relax—the tension between them dissipating—and Daniel figures lying was completely worth it.

"What about you?" asks Jihoon, a little cautious still. "Do you... Are you…?"

Daniel finds himself nodding without even realising it. "Yeah," he swallows. "He's... he's super cute—"

_But no one will ever be as beautiful as you are._

"—super funny—"

_You'll always be the only one who can make me smile so easily_.

"—I feel comfy around him—"

_You're my only home_.

"—and I think I love him."

_I know I still love you_.

When Daniel is done, Jihoon beams at him so wide that it's blinding—and even though he should be over the moon seeing his favourite smile on Jihoon after so long, Daniel can only feel his heart ache instead.

"I'm really, really happy for you, Niel," Jihoon says, with so much sincerity that it can only make Daniel feel like shit for lying to him. "You, out of everyone I know, deserve it the most."

_Then why can't I have you?_

"Thanks, Jihoonie. You know I feel the same way about you too."

Even though he's falling apart inside, Daniel would never lie about that. He wants the best for Jihoon—always wanted the best for him, whether it be the juiciest piece in their shared bucket of fried chicken, the highest score in the run-down arcade near their houses, or getting accepted into the most acclaimed university for theatre even if it meant they would drift apart. 

Exhaling slowly, Daniel can only hope his voice doesn't come out too shaky when he says, "Anyway, we should really drink these before they get cold. And catch up with our lives!"

It's at times like these Daniel is thankful that Jihoon has never been the best when it comes to figuring people's emotions out.

Because if he was, then Jihoon would see the strain in Daniel's smiles every time Jihoon gushes about his fiancé. He would hear the tremble in Daniel's voice when he has to talk about his nonexistent lover. And then Jihoon would realise that his childhood best friend Daniel is a selfish human being; as much as Daniel is trying to feel as happy as he can for Jihoon, he can't—not when he's in love with him like this.

But Daniel doesn't regret coming today, doesn't regret holding onto that promise—that silly pact they pinky-promised on when they were kids: to marry each other if they were still single in twenty years' time—because if anything, Daniel at least knows he's still in Jihoon's mind after all these years.

He wonders if things between them would have gone differently if they had kept in touch after Daniel graduated high school.

If they had another connection between them, something more tangible, something beyond the fragile promise they made to each other when they were young and naive, maybe there was a chance they could have been much more than just childhood friends now.

But Daniel just said it himself, didn't he?

There's no point thinking about what-ifs anymore.

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i originally had this written in time for nwm day 3, but i put off on posting it for the longest time because i lost confidence in my writing. that being said, i'm posting it super late now (lol) and i'd like to thank two people:
> 
> 1\. foxseal, for her constant support and reassurance in anything and everything i do, and for beta-ing this while she's on a trip... thank you always and please never get sick of me!!!!!  
> 2\. you, dear reader! thank you for taking precious time out of your day to read my writing.
> 
> ♥♥♥

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave kudos and comments if you enjoyed it and make sure to do the same for the other nwm entries as well! ♥
> 
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/himarisuu)  
> [CuriousCat](https://curiouscat.me/himarisu)


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